Financial leaders hold a pivotal role, deemed by The Economist as "the most crucial" in any organization. Influencing the CFO is paramount, particularly for the chief learning officer (CLO), whose initiatives often face scrutiny during cost-cutting measures. 

Influencing the CFO is paramount, particularly for the Chief Learning Officer (CLO), whose initiatives often face scrutiny during cost-cutting measures. Proactive engagement is essential to demonstrate how Learning and Development (L&D) drives organizational success, aligns with key metrics, and serves as a business catalyst.
 
Sometimes, The CFO will go after the L&D function in an effort to cut costs. Here's an excerpt of a memo from the CFO of a well-known company sent to all employees about reducing expenditures: 
 
"All unnecessary expenses should be eliminated. Effective immediately, all training, recruiting, external consultants, and off-site meetings are suspended."  
 
This CFO had concluded that those functions produced little, if any, value, and made the decision to cut them.  
 
But what can the CLO do? Doing nothing to show the business value of L&D is not an option. The CLO must take proactive steps to influence the thinking of the CFO, showing how L&D supports the organization in many ways, drives key metrics that are critical to the organization, and essentially becomes a good business driver. L&D can and should be a business driver in any organization. 
 
This webinar features insights from Lou Tedrick, Vice President, Global of Learning and Development for Verizon, who has proactively ensured that the CFO sees value in learning and development, and Jack J. Phillips, Ph.D., Chairman, ROI Institute and former L&D manager and HR executive, who spends much of his time working with top executives, including CFOs. Many of his presentations of ROI studies have included the CFO in the audience. 

Objectives

After attending this webinar, participants should be able to: 

1. Describe the desired relationship with the CFO
2. Use at least two strategies to improve the relationship with the CFO
3. Identify at least three strategies to change the perception of L&D with the CFO
4. Influence funding in the future with this relationship
5. Plan the next steps

Lou Tedrick, Vice President of Global Learning & Development, Verizon Wireless, is a Human Resources professional with expertise in organization development, learning and development, and employee relations. As the Verizon Vice President of Global Learning & Development, Lou is responsible for enterprise-wide learning & development and manages a virtual team of over 780 learning professionals across the globe.
 
Lou is a member of ATD and SHRM. She was recognized by Chief Learning Officer as the 2021 CLO of the Year. Under her leadership, Verizon has been recognized as a 2021 CLO Learning Elite organization, ranking #1 and as a 2022 and 2023 CLO Learning Elite Winner’s Circle member. Verizon has also ranked in the ATD BEST for 8 consecutive years and has been recognized for 12 consecutive years as a Training magazine Top 125 organization, ranking #1 in 2012 and 2013. Verizon was inducted into the Training Top 10 Hall of Fame in 2014 where they remain an active member. Her team has received numerous Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards and ROI Institute Awards.

Jack J. Phillips, Ph.D., chairman of ROI Institute, Inc., is a world-renowned expert on accountability, measurement, and evaluation. Phillips provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and major global organizations. The author or editor of more than 100 books, he conducts workshops and presents at conferences globally. He has conducted hundreds of evaluation studies and helped thousands of professionals demonstrate the impact and ROI of their work.